Throwing out more rules
2007-11-26
So, it's the last week and I've got a little over 10,000 words left to the target. It won't be easy, but it's doable and it'll be only my own fault if I don't manage (like it was my fault that I didn't even keep up with daily targets during my week off).
One thing that is clear to me, and probably to you, is that there's no way the current story can finish within 50,000 words, or more to the point, by Friday. The pace will pick up, but without ruining it completely I simply can't get the intended story finished by then, so I'm going to scrap rule 2: that the story would be finished within November. If I manage 50,000 words this month, I'll carry on after, albeit at a slightly more sane pace, until the story is over. Then I will consider polishing it a little; somehow reworking the one people have already read and someday letting it go is a lot less scary than the prospect of 'finishing' one of the actual novels I have been sitting on for so long.
For those who don't know, there is another story. It's been going for ages, must be around 60k words (I literally don't have a word count because some of it exists only in the database of the forum where I posted it), and is a great deal of fun to write (it's a joy to write in the way that Third Wheel might be with a few more months to ferment the characters).
The story CMS was written partly with that in mind, because I've had complaints about its legibility on the forum where it lives. That said, it was always a bit of a joke, a piece of trashy pulp in a fan-fic style to kick-start the 'fiction' board on a forum for a community of roleplayers. I don't know if I want to bring it here, where I think I'd be implicitly claiming that it's worth reading.
That said, in my opinion it is worth reading. The beginning is ropey and the writing isn't sparkling, but I'm proud of the characters and the storytelling.
I'm erring on the side of bringing it here; reposting the story so far and using the CMS here as home for new chapters. After all, I can still guarantee one reader, perhaps now another (thanks OJS), and it was only going to be pretentious if I was overestimating the likely readership.
One thing that is clear to me, and probably to you, is that there's no way the current story can finish within 50,000 words, or more to the point, by Friday. The pace will pick up, but without ruining it completely I simply can't get the intended story finished by then, so I'm going to scrap rule 2: that the story would be finished within November. If I manage 50,000 words this month, I'll carry on after, albeit at a slightly more sane pace, until the story is over. Then I will consider polishing it a little; somehow reworking the one people have already read and someday letting it go is a lot less scary than the prospect of 'finishing' one of the actual novels I have been sitting on for so long.
For those who don't know, there is another story. It's been going for ages, must be around 60k words (I literally don't have a word count because some of it exists only in the database of the forum where I posted it), and is a great deal of fun to write (it's a joy to write in the way that Third Wheel might be with a few more months to ferment the characters).
The story CMS was written partly with that in mind, because I've had complaints about its legibility on the forum where it lives. That said, it was always a bit of a joke, a piece of trashy pulp in a fan-fic style to kick-start the 'fiction' board on a forum for a community of roleplayers. I don't know if I want to bring it here, where I think I'd be implicitly claiming that it's worth reading.
That said, in my opinion it is worth reading. The beginning is ropey and the writing isn't sparkling, but I'm proud of the characters and the storytelling.
I'm erring on the side of bringing it here; reposting the story so far and using the CMS here as home for new chapters. After all, I can still guarantee one reader, perhaps now another (thanks OJS), and it was only going to be pretentious if I was overestimating the likely readership.
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